The Role of a Friend
by Genis Aurion
Summary: Slash, rated for non-explicit sexual situations. Stan knows hormonal urges suck. He just needs to make sure they don't get in the way of his friendships. StanCraig, KyleKenny, and possible mix-and-matches.


DeviantArt is an amazing muse-reviver. I'm quite glad to have stumbled upon it again. Also, if you have the time, please check out my profile page? For those of you who know about my personal project, there's a new update there. Thanks :)

Does anyone reading this know of the anime Kyo Kara Maou? I wrote a small drabble for that fandom recently and it got no reviews... Idk what I did wrong, so eh, check it out and critique me?

* * *

Stan is walking down the hall next to Kenny when he sees Craig, and in that moment the tension rises. Kenny misses it entirely, or perhaps only seemingly, and he continues to talk about the fireworks display someone put on over Stark's Pond for New Year's Eve. But Stan cares only minimally, Kenny's words missing him entirely, and instead his attention is fixed on the boy that passes by.

Craig meets Stan's eyes briefly. Their eyes lock. The intensity is short-lived. Craig breaks it immediately and turns away.

Stan follows suit, and both boys blush.

Kenny merely smiles to himself.

-,-

Stan isn't really sure why Kenny is bringing Wendy up for the third time that day, and it starts to get on his nerves.

"What the hell, Kenny," Stan says testily, turning to his friend with controlled hostility. "Wendy and I haven't dated for four years now. Why the hell do you keep bringing her up?"

"Because~" Kenny says, perhaps too cheerfully, and Stan bites his lip to prevent himself from saying something of ill nature. "Anyway, you usually get back together after only a few months, so I was just curious?"

"Well, stop being curious." Stan sighs, turning away. "Eh, sorry for being bitter, Kenny. You know she cheated on me, don't you? It's... not the best topic."

"Oh, right, I forgot." Stan, quite honestly, doubts that_._ "I'm sorry, dude."

"Don't worry about it. I've moved on - well, mostly, if you exclude what happened just now. I'm done with women for a while."

"How about men?" It's a gamble on Kenny's part, though he retracts the question immediately upon seeing Stan's surprised face. "Hey, joke, dude."

"Eh, just surprised you asked..." Stan turns red. "Actually, I've sorta been thinking about it myself, you know? I mean, not that I find it weird or anything - I mean, we live in South Park - but... I dunno, me being gay seems a bit..."

Kenny only nods and lets Stan keep talking.

"..at the same time, women are a pain. They're so unnecessarily melodramatic. And I dunno, I figure guys aren't as much of a pain in the ass as - stop giggling, Kenny - ...anyway, I guess it wouldn't really be gay, maybe more..."

"Bi-curious?" Kenny offers, and Stan snaps his fingers in agreement. "Dude, as a warning, men can be total dicks too."

"But without the drama," Stan reasons, and Kenny merely shrugs.

"Depends. There are some pretty bitchy queens out there."

"Yeah..." Stan frowns. "Why'd you ask, anyway? I didn't think I was being obvious enough for anyone to think - "

"I'm just that good," says Kenny, and Stan shakes his head. "Anyway, what do you think of Craig?"

Stan does a double-take.

"C-Craig?" Stan stutters, and Kenny merely smiles at this reaction. "W-what about him?"

"You stare at him a lot."

"I do _not_!"

Kenny shrugs and smiles sheepishly. "In the halls, during English, at lunch when we're in line... you definitely do, Stan. Do you like him?"

Stan slaps his forehead with his palm. "I-I wouldn't say _like_, no..."

"Think he's hot? - Hell, I do."

"I... yeah...thank you for that."

"Wanna bang him?"

"_Kenny_!" Kenny merely laughs, bordering hysterical, and Stan turns a deep red as he tries to silence his friend.

But Kenny's face turns serious as quickly as his laughter had started.

"You going to do anything about it?" And it's only then that it hits Stan, where Kenny has been leading this entire conversation to, and the concerned look Kenny gives him is indicative that this is no longer a joking matter. Stan bites his lip, sighs, and looks away - but he can still feel Kenny's heated gaze in his direction.

"I...I don't know. Craig doesn't exactly _like_ me, never really has."

"Dude, that was elementary school."

"And some things never change? I dunno, Kenny... pretty sure he'd just be weirded out." Stan sighs. "Probably not."

"You sure that's your final answer?" Kenny asks, causing Stan to frown.

"My final answer?" Stan reiterates, and Kenny nods.

"Yeah. Hate to break it to ya, but..." Kenny smirks deviously. "I like him too."

-,-

Stan and Kenny don't really talk much after that. He's honestly not sure why, either, which is perhaps the strangest part of it all. He isn't sure at all why he's so bothered that Kenny wants to get in Craig's pants - hell, he hadn't even cared, much anyway, during Kenny's Can-I-Please-Do-Your-Best-Friend-Kyle-Because-He's-Really-Pushing-My-Hormonal-Buttons phase, though he's still quite glad Kenny never went through with it. Yet even the slightest news of Kenny's interest for Craig pisses him off, and though Stan doesn't exactly try hard, he still can only come up with one reason why.

He tries to reason the situation with himself. He doesn't really _like_ Craig, or maybe he does, but if he doesn't even know then can it actually count? And was it even justified? - with Wendy, he'd genuinely liked being around her, or at least his younger self had thought so. He didn't even talk to Craig much, let alone hang out with him.

_But he's really hot.  
Stop thinking like Kenny._

_But he's really. Hot.  
That's just wrong, that's like being attracted to yourself._

_But we don't even look anything alike. And he's hot.  
...adolescent hormones, go die._

_Craig's still undeniably hot.  
...I give up._

Stan busies himself with Kyle's company before thinking it any further.

-,-

Kyle is attractive in an entirely different sense of the word, and often Stan jokingly reminds Kyle of such, but mostly just to see Kyle's face blush an embarrassingly deep red. But today is different - perhaps it's some sort of unsaid fetish - because when Kyle shows up to school decked in suit and tie, Stan can't keep his eyes off of his friend.

Stan teases, Kyle turns away, Stan laughs: Expected behavior. Then, Stan asks for the occasion.

"Business Leaders Association's got a field trip."

"...where the hell does one go to in South Park that involves suit and tie?" But before Kyle can manage to respond, his attention is diverted elsewhere, and the shock upon his face is enough for Stan curiosity. He turns and follows Kyle's gaze, but what he sees not only shocks him but also angers him.

"...whore," is all Kyle mutters, and Stan nods quietly as he watches Kenny pull Craig toward him by his tie. Kenny glances in their general direction - and Stan swears, _swears_ Kenny smirks - and whispers something before pulling Craig again for a kiss.

Stan's blood boils, but finds himself at even more of a surprise that it is Kyle who is the first to leave the scene.

-,-

Stan doesn't talk to Kenny, even in Craig's absence. He doesn't even bring it up, scared that his temper will get the better of him. And maybe Kenny deserves it, just maybe, and maybe Stan will let Kenny have it later today, just maybe.

Undeniably, however, Kenny's actions angering him must mean _something_. Maybe.

Stan just doesn't know what.

-,-

Kyle catches Stan on the way home, before Stan can do anything reckless. He's still dressed in the same attire, having just returned from his field trip. In one hand he holds a trophy, having probably won something, but Stan doesn't really inquire, only congratulates.

Kyle seems not to expect anything more from him. For someone who'd just earned a trophy, Kyle is rather despondent, and Stan is quite sure Kyle's mind, too, is on the events of that morning. He doesn't explicitly say it, but he can tell, by the way Kyle shrugs and sighs after everything he says. So he offers Kyle to his place, an offer Kyle seldom refuses, because though the intention is to cheer Kyle up, Stan too could use the company.

He doesn't quite know what happens from there. Somewhere between playing video games and eating his mom's homemade cookies, Kyle admits to liking Kenny. It explains Kyle's anger, at the least, and it relieves Stan to hear this, though he's not sure why. Perhaps it's because it means Kyle hadn't gone angry for Craig's sake, much as Stan had - and in the split second afterward Stan debates whether he should confide his feelings for Craig in Kyle.

But before Stan's plans are ever realized, he finds Kyle's lips upon his. He's caught off-guard yes, and he does raise his hand with the intention of pushing his best friend away - but before he can Kyle pulls back, and Stan takes a glimpse of his face. His eyes are watery and red, tears slowly leaking, and it both pains and saddens Stan to see Kyle like this.

Kyle whispers plenty of _I'm Sorry, Stan_'s, and before either boy knows it they're kissing again. It's a wet kiss, mostly on Kyle's part, but Stan no longer has the heart to push him away. He knows somehow, in one twisted way or another, it's his duty as Kyle's best friend to comfort him, to let Kyle vent out his frustrations when the need arises.

So Stan doesn't stop him. They move to his bed, hands begin to wander, meaningless sobs are expressed, frustrations are shared - it's not long before Stan finds himself all over Kyle's hand. And then Kyle is sobbing, apologizing, a complete mess, and Stan takes every action that comes to mind in order to assure his best friend that everything is fine, or at the least will be soon.

It occurs to him, only then, that Stan realizes how much Kyle had actually _liked_ Kenny. Why had he not reacted in the same way upon seeing Craig being kissed by Kenny? He wanted to blame it upon the fact that it had been Kenny's initiative, not Craig's. But he knows, now, that it's actually because Stan doesn't really _like_ Craig.

-,-

Kenny apologizes to Stan the next day, long after Stan has calmed down and made peace with himself. Stan doesn't lose his temper, but he does tell Kenny how much it had pained him at the time, as well as how much he'd been disappointed in the blond boy. It's then, however, when Kenny admits that he actually _doesn't_ like Craig, that Craig knows this, and that Kenny's actions had only been a means in which to aggravate Stan into taking action.

"You shouldn't play with people's emotions, Kenny," is all Stan says, and as he says this he specifically keeps Kyle in mind."You've hurt more people than you may realize."

"I know," Kenny says, and Stan can sense the sincere apologetic tone in his voice. "I'm sorry."

Stan says nothing that acknowledges the apology.

"But, um..." Kenny twiddles with his thumbs. "You... still like Craig?" And it takes Stan quite a bit of time to reply - because having made peace with his feelings, though official in itself, is hardly anything compared to voicing it out to someone else. But he knows he must do this. Much unlike Kenny's phases, yet at the same quite like them, this Craig-Is-Ridiculously-Attractive phase must pass.

So Stan says it. Confidently, firmly, without regret.

"No. I've realized there's someone much more important to me than him."

-,-

Stan isn't sure how long Kyle keeps his feelings for Kenny, nor do they ever bring up the topic of that one watershed of a morning.

He laughs, to himself, at the irony of it all. In the end, who had played the role of a best friend? He'd been there for Kyle - but, as unfortunate as Kyle's situation had been - had Kyle not been the one to make clear the situation, with Stan's feelings, with Craig, with everything? Nevertheless, Stan is thankful that Kyle had indirectly prevented Stan's hormonal urges from blinding him.

And maybe Kyle's feelings will never change. But Stan accepts this anyway.

* * *

...to be honest, when I first started writing this, I imagined a StanCraig ending. Oh well. Apparently they call it Straig? This is new to me.

Anyway, feedback is nice, don't kill me for the ending, and check out my profile page? Hope you enjoyed!


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